LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 10.0 FEET, THE CREEKS ARE STAINED AND THE MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR & 50’s

Bass fishing on Lake Lanier remains good and continues to improve. The lake level and water temperatures have been fairly stable over the past week. We have focused our efforts shallow over the past week. We are starting back in ditches early and have found a good early morning schooling bite in some of these areas. Fish are very active for about the first 45 minutes of daylight. This bite is somewhat random, but contained within the ditch. The fish can be busting in 4 feet or over 40 feet when they are chasing the bait aggressively After the schooling bite slows, focus on the key features you find shallow near the ditches as well such as clay and rock points. We are starting in ditches and staying in them through the day as well as working shallow pockets just off the main lake or main creek channels. Most days we are focusing in 15 feet of water or less. A Spro McStick or McRip has been a good choice as far as jerk baits go, in addition to a Megabass Vision 110. A Pearl White or Blue/White combo have been the best colors. A watermelon candy finesse worm on a Picasso Shakedown Head or a Chattahoochee Jig has been a good alternative if the fish are not as aggressive. Check the shallower brush through the day as well, as we have been finding some fish staging around this brush. As the sun gets up, check the shallow docks in ditches and pockets for activity. Work a jerkbait and a soft plastic swimbait beside these shallow docks, as well as a jig and worm. These fish are already starting to stage in preparation for the spawn. You will find spots and largemouth in these places. This pattern definitely works better when the sun is out as opposed to cloudy conditions. The clouds make the fish scatter and often bottom locked as well. While they still remain close to the dock, they are often not directly under the docks. The fishing is definitely more random under cloud cover. This is a great time to learn the early spring bite on Lanier. They are up and moving! Here are the dates I have open in March: 14, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, and 30 Give me a call and let’s get out and have some fun!

This Report brought to you by: Jimbo Mathley, www.jimboonlanier.com 770 542 7764

It is still a great time to learn the ditch bite as well as the timber bite. I am now guiding in a Brand New Xpress Bass Boat – 21’3″ powered by a 250 Yamaha SHO and equipped with the latest Lowrance HDS Gen III units featuring 3D Structure Scan technology. Come take a ride in this beauty! As I mentioned, if you are wanting to learn the deep timber bite and/or the ditch bite, now is the time!

This Lake Lanier Striper report is from Captain Ken West 404 561 2564. Contact us on our web site. www.bigfishonguide.com

Striper fishing is good. The Stripers are moving and the best way to find them is to pay attention to the Sea Gulls. The sea Gulls on Lake Lanier are: 1.) Checking out an area by flying in a search pattern 2.) Feeding on bait fish pushed to the surface by Stripers or Spotted Bass or Loons 3.) Resting on the water or small island, usually a reef marker. If they are circling an area they are searching for bait fish. Pay attention to these searching Gulls as they will search areas where they have had success recently. These areas often hold inactive Stripers and can be “marked” using your Lowrance HDS. A group of diving Gulls feeding on bait fish is what gets a Striper fisherman’s adrenaline flowing! Before putting out baits approach the area slowly and look for Loons. If you see Loons odds are they are feeding on baits pushed up by the Loons. However, you may want to give these situations a quick check because there may be both Loons and Stripers feeding on a school of bait fish. If you have diving Gulls without Loons you have found feeding fish! If you see a group of Gulls sitting on an island it is almost always a social event; pay them no mind. If you see a group sitting on the water it could be a social event or they could be waiting for the Stripers to start feeding. Give these areas a quick check with your Lowrance HDS. Free lines with medium minnows in the top producing technique. Deploy both unweighted and weighted free lines with a medium minnow on a #4 or a #2 Gamakatsu Octopus hook. We have used both 10lb and 12lb test leaders over the past couple of weeks and concluded there is no significant advantage to using 10lb test. Down rod fishing and trolling with Umbrella rigs have not worked well this week. The lake is 10 feet below full pool and the water is clear on the main lake and slightly stained in the back of the creeks. The water temperature is in the mid 50’s. Call Big Fish On Guide Service at 404 561 2564 to schedule a guided fishing trip on Lake Lanier.

This Lake Lanier Crappie report is from Dan Saknini, member of the Lanier Crappie Angler’s Club. See our club’s website, www.laniercrappieanglers.net

Water temperature is 57 degrees, approaching 60 degrees in the afternoon. We are still fishing the pre spawn and the bite is good to excellent. With the approach of the full moon and warmer water temps, the spawn is near. We’ve been used to fishing the deeper docks and submerged brush piles in various depths. The overwhelming majority of the crappie have abandoned these areas in anticipation of the spawn. If you are having difficulty locating fish, you may need to think outside the box. Pay attention to the backs of pockets and the backs of the creeks, watching for bank fishermen. They may clue you in on how and where to catch the crappie right now. They are in shallow water and the majority of the bank fishermen are catching them on a crappie minnow under a cork. Hair jigs and soft body grubs with a straight tail are also working well. You may want to try using a weighted cork with a Bobby Garland jig 2 feet below the cork using the popping method (gently pop the cork and retrieve slowly to keep the jig vertical). You can also target the blow downs. A blow down is a fallen tree partially on the bank, partially in the water. But not all blow downs are equal. There are an unusual amount in the lake from the past winter storms. The older blow downs with algae buildup will produce better than the new. To determine the size of the tree, look at the trunk of the tree and compare it to nearby standing trees. That will give you an idea of the height of the tree, and therefore the length submerged. Make sure you fish all the angles, including the middle of the tree. Crappie relate to structure, and they’ve found their living room. Cast into the blow down and pop it slowly as you retrieve. A crappie minnow under a cork here is also a good option. Long line trolling is working well in the backs of creeks. If you are a dock shooter you will still find fish on the shallower docks close to the spawning grounds. The females are hitting the shallows, checking their spawning grounds. If you want to harvest fish, be mindful that the females holding eggs are our future fish, so consider keeping only the darker colored fish (almost purplish black) and releasing the females. This is the time of the year that you can put your limit in the boat with no problem. The more spots you fish, the more fish you will put in the boat. Always, when you start catching the smaller fish, leave that spot and go to the next pocket, or the next dock. The fish are aggressive now, and are not picky on jig colors. Our favorite line is Mr. Crappie four pound test, high visibility line. We find that wearing polarized sunglasses is very helpful in enabling you to see your line movement. Get out and fish! It is the best time of the year!

Stay safe on the water, wear your life jacket!

On April 29, 2017 in Blue Ridge Georgia, the Blue Ridge Trout Fest will be there for their second year. Vendors, seminars and much more are planned. http://blueridgetroutfest.com/

Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Pro Staff will teach two Free SONAR classes at the Cabela’s in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday April 30, 2017 at 10 am and again at noon.

Ask for a free sonar set up sheet by sending me an email to [email protected]. Please tell me what model machine you have.

We recommend Overboard Designs for 2956 Waterworks Road Buford, Georgia 30518 Phone 678.714.7122.

Advantage Boat Center in Cumming Georgia offer sales, service and storage close to Lake Lanier. 678 771 8745. Ask for Myra.

We recommend Transducer Shield and Savers. Protect your investment.

We have the LOWRANCE Gen 3 Touch and the game changing technology in the NEW 3D Lowrance Technology on our boat. Bring any HDS machine only to Lake Lanier and learn it ALL in one day. Call Ken for details. See our Southern Fishing Schools page for the latest screen shots of the LOWRANCE 3D technology. See bass over a ladder in 10 feet of water, 168 feet from my boat. www.lowrance.com.

Anglers have these books for sale BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE, BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL, BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE and BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL. These books have lots of bass fishing and covers every week of the year. Each book $39.00. If you would like a sample of any book send us an e mail to [email protected].

We offer these waypoints for sale. You get the coordinates and you load them into your GPS unit for
Lake Allatoona for $99.00 Lake Lanier for $99.00 Lake Oconee for $99.00 Lake Weiss for $99.00 Lake Hartwell for $99.00 WAYPOINTS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE

Saturday, March 25, 2017 2pm at Bass Pro Shops in Lawrenceville, learn BASICS OF ELECTRONICS BY LOWRANCE PRO STAFF, KEN STURDIVANT